Highway driving etiquette and rules

This is a discussion on Highway driving etiquette and rules within Route / Travel Queries, part of the Travelogues category; Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom
Yes, I agree; no vehicle has any right to be on the wrong side ...

Yes, I agree; no vehicle has any right to be on the wrong side of the road, and should take that side only if it is empty.

Of course, when faced with an oncoming vehicle, it is better to get out of the way than to die making a point.

Yes, good sense of humour.

Safe driving depends so much on understanding.

You must be considerate,kind hearted on the highway to drive safe.
One may be surprised to observe, how other fellow drivers also respond in
a kind hearted way.
If an oncoming vehicle is (coming towards me) coming while overtaking another vehicle , depending on the distance , I would slowdown for a few seconds and that would be enough for the oncoming vehicle to make that
'S' turn. If by the time I am bit nearer , I would move to left as much as possible while at the same time , I would slowdown quite a bit.

The US manuals specifically advises that one going on a two lane road, if you are being overtaken, slow down a bit to let the vehicle pass by comfortably. This advice also holds true for India as well.

I travel a lot on the Mumbai - Pune Exprees Higway and indicator systems is so confusing that its not funny. Ideally, on the expressway an indicator should be used when you are changing lanes. But now the confusing part out here is that some people actually use them to say that your are free to overtake and the others to change lanes. It's a crazy scenario because you really can't make out whether you shuld overtake or that guy is changing lanes.

Also the concept of a fast lane is an alien concept to most of the drivers and specially for the cabbies shuttling on a regular basis. Infact once I caught up with one of the drivers who refused to leave the fast lane, in the foodplaza and guess what he said, 'Look the speed limit on the expressway is 80kmp and I was at 80, so techically speaking I have the right to be in the fast lane!'

You are right. I have experienced the same on the Bangalore - Mysore Highway most of the times. Once an educated looking driver was sticking on to the right lane while I flashed my beams to seek way to get past him from his right. He then starts his left indicator (Since he was on the right) and I assumed he would change the lane and let me overtake from right. I kept my car behind him for almost a kilometer only to realise later that our dude was signalling me overtake him from his left.

Again, while I was driving on the same highway in the night, A KSRTC bus suddenly opts for the right lane while my co-passenger asked me to wait till he came left. But my experince with these bus drivers is that they will stick to the right most lane and it is completely a guess work with tremendous precaution that one needs to overtake from left (unsafe) or right.

I have also noticed one more thing on the highways that usually AP,TN,KA and KL Trucks prefer the right lane and will never move aside to the left while trucks with HR,PB,MH,GJ and RJ would immediately come left after they finish overtaking any vehicle.
Hence, at times it is good to read the regional connection of the truck and overtake accordingly.

On the Pune-Mumbai expessway, things do get funnier since it is 3 laned and at times you will find the truck in the center while 2 vehicles are overtaking it from both its sides.

A KSRTC bus suddenly opts for the right lane while my co-passenger asked me to wait till he came left. But my experince with these bus drivers is that they will stick to the right most lane and it is completely a guess work with tremendous precaution that one needs to overtake from left (unsafe) or right.

I have also noticed one more thing on the highways that usually AP,TN,KA and KL Trucks prefer the right lane and will never move aside to the left while trucks with HR,PB,MH,GJ and RJ would immediately come left after they finish overtaking any vehicle.

Trucks and buses will stick to the right lane on certain highways, making a left side overtaking manoeuvre inevitable. Why do they do that? Look for slow-moving vehicles on those highways - cyclists, mopeds, tractors, bullock carts and such. If the heavy vehicle has to constantly pull over to the left lane and slow down to let faster LMVs pass, then pull out again to the right to overtake the slower vehicles, not only does the driver wear himself out, he also burns more fuel and makes slower progress. To save himself all that trouble, the driver might signal for the LMV to overtake from the left.

Depending on which highways the driver is more used to, he might just remain on the right lane even on highways where slower traffic is not there, and make the faster LMV overtake from the left. Old habits die hard...

You must be considerate,kind hearted on the highway to drive safe.
One may be surprised to observe, how other fellow drivers also respond in
a kind hearted way.
If an oncoming vehicle is (coming towards me) coming while overtaking another vehicle , depending on the distance , I would slowdown for a few seconds and that would be enough for the oncoming vehicle to make that
'S' turn. If by the time I am bit nearer , I would move to left as much as possible while at the same time , I would slowdown quite a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by greatpower

The US manuals specifically advises that one going on a two lane road, if you are being overtaken, slow down a bit to let the vehicle pass by comfortably. This advice also holds true for India as well.

Yes, we are not in a race, nor we are we out to prove that our territory starts at that line, and none may cross it. Points I sometimes have to remind myself about! I try to imagine the road ahead as a lane which is ever changing shape, according to obstructions on the left or right, and drive accordingly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DileepKS

True. the concept is to ease the accelerator a bit.

It is all nice to accommodate others when it is in everyone's interest. But it is a problem when people demand you adjust.

Well, quite... that is when it does sometime become hard to remember to keep one's cool.

Situations where one has moved to the left to accommodate an on-coming vehicle, and a third person comes up behind and uses that space to overtake in the rapidly closing gap don't help either.

Trucks and buses will stick to the right lane on certain highways, making a left side overtaking manoeuvre inevitable. Why do they do that? Look for slow-moving vehicles on those highways - cyclists, mopeds, tractors, bullock carts and such. If the heavy vehicle has to constantly pull over to the left lane and slow down to let faster LMVs pass, then pull out again to the right to overtake the slower vehicles, not only does the driver wear himself out, he also burns more fuel and makes slower progress. To save himself all that trouble, the driver might signal for the LMV to overtake from the left.

Yes, it actually sounds understandable for trucks - it would be too cumbersome for them to drive in the left lane wading through the cycles and mopeds and then change lanes every other minute.
But what irks me is these mini auto carriages (APE kinds) that believe they are heavy trucks themselves and slowly inch forward with all of their 10-15 bhp in the rightmost lane. They behave exactly like trucks paying no heed to who is yelling behind - it is another point the engines make enough sound to deafen the driver.

- While driving at night, don't directly look onto the headlights of the oncoming vehicles (especially trucks), the glare may temporarily cause a blackout/hamper the vision. Focus your eyes on the road and stay clear.

- While driving around twilight (evening times when its neither day nor night) drive with the parking lights on, it gives a better visibility to others around. Also this is the time when visibilty/judgement can get hampered (due to low contrast), incidently I've observed most people speed up around twilight (maybe thinking that - oh its getting dark! let me clear as much as possible before its dark)

>>Originally Posted by Jaggu >>When speeding up once you enter highway from city, try increasing the speed in smaller increments >>(say 10 kph every 2 kms), so that your body/physical system also adjusts. Same while entering >>slower city traffic, your system will take it as "ok" to maintain the speed and your brain will >>have to force kill the command.
The above tip is very important, it takes time for the body to adjust to variation in speeds, so give ample time to adjust.
Its better to start a long-long trip slow and steady, drive at normal speeds through the city, take it easy increase the speed very gradually around the suburbs reaching your regular highway speeds liesurely. Even the passengers will not feel the transition from slow to fast that way. Sudden variation in speeds increases anxiety levels.
Also while nearing destination, or passing through towns on the way, one has to consciously come out of the comfort zone (fast mode) and decide to reduce the speed.

- While driving over curvy winding roads, its better to always make it a practice to stick to the left lane and honk. Its always un-nerving to find someone on the wrong side of the road or even overtaking just around a blind corner.

- Its better to maintain higher averages over long stretches rather than rely peak speeds, overspeeding and overtaking for short stretches doesn't really help to cover distances during a long drive. One has to be consistent and rely on maintaining averages.

- Before overtaking trucks or any heavy vehicle, always sound horn once to let the driver know of your presence. It minimizes the risk of the vehicle swerving while the overtaking is happening.

- As mentioned in earlier posts in this thread, its important to maintain a safe (comfortable breaking) distance from the vehicle ahead.
For some reason if the vehicle ahead stops abruptly, better sound horn as you slow down just to alert the driver behind from becoming aware that you are stopping and minimize risk of him rear-ending you.

- Always check tyre pressure before a long drive, never under-inflate the tyres, less PSI than normal willl cause the tyre to get overheated due to constant tyre-sidewall compression/flexing that could lead to a blowout.
Either fill in the normal recommended PSI or 1 or 2 PSI above normal is also fine.
Rule is, Never fill less than normal PSI.

- Maybe slightly OT, Be prompt to replace bald Tyres, Tyres are the only part in contact with the road and it has to be able to grip the road well. Check Tyres and never think twice about cost and replace them promptly if they are worn out. (Even if the tread is good, replace them if they are more than 5 years old)

- Contrary to popular belief, if you are replacing two tyres with new ones, put the new tyres at the back wheels. ( Most tyre shops would suggest to put the two new tyres in front and the old ones at the back This is an unsafe practice and could potentially cause a rear spinout during cornering on a slippery/wet surface and difficult to regain control. Rule is, its easier to regain control from a frontal tyre slippage rather than a rear slippage)

- Never go beyond 60-70 kmph on a rainy Indian highway, Contrary to personal confidence of doing higher speeds, experience will teach how easy it is to lose traction of the road and go sliding like a carrom board -striker on account of a slightest braking, if the speed is higher on a rainy day.

- In a situation where there is just space for a single vehicle to pass and say a truck in front flashed his light and comes ahead, just stay where you are or stay clear and let the truck pass. If one moves ignoring the flash, Truck drivers usually will not stop if they have started coming in with the light flashing, potentially dangerous for anything that would come in way.

- Following a heavy vehicle closely like a truck or Bus is dangerous as it hampers visibility and also opposite vehicles tend to cut in after passing the truck coming directly on our path. Its better to maintain a lot of distance if following a heavy vehicle.

Upon entering a highway it always feels like some overtaking competition is going on. Every body is busy overtaking somebody else.

Constant Overtaking increases anxiety (both for the driver and the passengers) and leads to spikes in the speed.

Better to be out of the overtaking game and let others (who are maintaining higher speeds pass peacefully) and also only overtake wherever its very necessary and with a wide margin of safety. Just concentrate on maintaining reasonable average speeds.

Engine braking refers to slowing down by downshifting the gears (from a higher gear to the lower gear,this does not strain the synchro mesh gearboxes of present day cars) and then applying the brakes.This gives you better control

Avoid braking hard and long when you want to slow down. Down shift your gears and then apply the brakes in spurts so as to prevent them from over heating

Engine braking is especially vital if you are driving down a hill. You tend to use brake more often leading to reduced cooling time which in turn leads to brake fading and reduced braking effeciency. Additionally it heats up the brake pads. Anyone who has driven down from Ooty to Mysore can attest to that.

However with highways I wouldn't recommend a lot of it (except in an emergency) as it strains the transmission. you usually do have enough time to plan out your braking in a highway anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by loving_alaap

Well its a big confusion,

On Ahmedabad-Vadodara express highway, I have seen cars are giving permission for overtaking by either left or right indicators. So, its really a dilemma, if you wan to give permission, which light you have to blink. I usually blink right indicator to give permission to overtake by a car behind you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhayshanu

No unni.ak,
In india everyone has a right hand drive car, and we drive on the left side of the road, also when we OVERTAKE we go from the right, so the sensible signal is the right, and when they are telling to stop, it is sensible to use the left signal, so as to indicate that do not go from my right.
But all truckers use their hands even if their lights are in working condition.

Well in my experience I have personally seen most truckers use right indicators to ask you to overtake, Vice Versa for cars. Personally I follow Right- Overtake rule.

One other point if I may, When you are stuck behind a slow lorry or bus and the car in front of you proceeds to overtake the larger vehicle, you can move to the middle of the road and take a peek between the two vehicles to see if it is clear for you to follow. Also I always watch to see if the distance between the tires and the divider lines drawn on the road is shrinking whenever I overtake a large vehicle. That is a easy way of keeping track if the larger vehicle is drifting into your path.

So shall we take a stand in Tem-BHP about indicators then? Let the truck drivers and others do what they want, but as an educated group (to avoid the confusions on the road)
=> We shall use the indicators only to indicate where we would like to go and definitely not to tell others where they SHOULD go [let them decide what they want to do]
=> When we want to go left, the left is on
=> When we want to go right, the right is on
=> Both of them on when we want to indicate hazard situations

That's it ... no more going left and turning right indicator ... and going right and turning on left indicator!!

Lets reduce the confusions on the road for the good

Though I understand the intentions behind the logic that we should be taking our own decisions while overtaking, it is actually pretty helpful when someone tells you to wait. Contrary to a claim that I read earlier that the vehicle in front might not be aware of a hazard, usually he is in a better position to identify a potential hazard than we are, driving behind him. Isn't that the whole point of using signals?

And honestly, about the indicators, if you have driven long enough and know highway driving, you will be able to recogonize the intentions of the driver before you no matter which indicator he is using.

I have also noticed one more thing on the highways that usually AP,TN,KA and KL Trucks prefer the right lane and will never move aside to the left while trucks with HR,PB,MH,GJ and RJ would immediately come left after they finish overtaking any vehicle.
Hence, at times it is good to read the regional connection of the truck and overtake accordingly.

well! I disagree with AP,TN,KA,KL truck part. I drive to my hometown at least 5 times a year through NH-7, NH-47 and couple of TN state highways. I get to drive through the middle of a lot of long distance trucks which are TN or KA registered ( AP, KL trucks relatively less in these highways). My observation is completely contrary to yours. They do use the left lane wherever possible and after overtaking they move to the left one at the earliest they could. Ofcourse, there are bad aapples, but cannot generalise

Also I always watch to see if the distance between the tires and the divider lines drawn on the road is shrinking whenever I overtake a large vehicle. That is a easy way of keeping track if the larger vehicle is drifting into your path.

+1 to that. The tyres are THE things to observe. No matter how last-minute a move the vehicle up ahead might pull, it all begins down there. Priceless few seconds can be gained!

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

Contrary to a claim that I read earlier that the vehicle in front might not be aware of a hazard, usually he is in a better position to identify a potential hazard than we are, driving behind him. Isn't that the whole point of using signals?

Absolutely! In fact, I firmly believe as responsible drivers we should make it a point to warn the vehicle behind if it's pulling a potentially suicidal move.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

And honestly, about the indicators, if you have driven long enough and know highway driving, you will be able to recogonize the intentions of the driver before you no matter which indicator he is using.

+1 to that too! It's all about reading the body language of the vehicle up ahead! The same also holds true when following a vehicle closely. Something as minute as a change in the tread pattern rhythm can indicate that the vehicle has slowed down ever so slightly.

well! I disagree with AP,TN,KA,KL truck part. I drive to my hometown at least 5 times a year through NH-7, NH-47 and couple of TN state highways. I get to drive through the middle of a lot of long distance trucks which are TN or KA registered ( AP, KL trucks relatively less in these highways). My observation is completely contrary to yours. They do use the left lane wherever possible and after overtaking they move to the left one at the earliest they could. Ofcourse, there are bad aapples, but cannot generalise

Exactly, cannot generalise but their number is huge. NH-4 from Bangalore to Pune is relatively safer and trucks tend to stick to left whereas Bangalore -Chennai part is equally opposite. Rarely I have seen them moving to the left to allow overtaking on most of the occasions. And "Generally" this seems to be practice in most of the 4 laned highways in the south as I have been experiencing and driving here almost since I started driving.

well! I disagree with AP,TN,KA,KL truck part. I drive to my hometown at least 5 times a year through NH-7, NH-47 and couple of TN state highways. I get to drive through the middle of a lot of long distance trucks which are TN or KA registered ( AP, KL trucks relatively less in these highways). My observation is completely contrary to yours. They do use the left lane wherever possible and after overtaking they move to the left one at the earliest they could. Ofcourse, there are bad aapples, but cannot generalise

I kind of agree with paragsachania on this one... Don't know about KA but the AP, TN, and the KA trucks and also the KA buses love the fast lane and they refuse to move. Infact once I was there was this KA bus who for a change was obdiently driving in the left lane before he hit the express highway and the moment he was on the expressway, he nicly shifted on to the fast lane... I really wanted to learn his logic for doing something that stupid.